


shiratorizawa antics

by mooshys



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Crack, F/M, Fluff, Funny, Gen, Humor, Platonic Relationships, Possible Endgame, Reader-Insert, Slice of Life, character cameos, no beta we die like daichi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-13 19:08:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28533435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mooshys/pseuds/mooshys
Summary: A collection of stories involving the manager (you) and the rest of the Shiratorizawa team! Chapters are based off everyday hilarious scenarios that I can imagine the Shiratorizawa Volleyball Club participating in.More platonic friendship than romantic interest.
Relationships: Goshiki Tsutomu/Reader, Kawanishi Taichi/Reader, Oohira Reon/Reader, Semi Eita/Reader, Shirabu Kenjirou/Reader, Shiratorizawa Academy Volleyball Club/Reader, Tendou Satori/Reader, Ushijima Wakatoshi/Reader, Yamagata Hayato/Reader
Comments: 38
Kudos: 241





	1. the noodle incident

**Author's Note:**

> hi y'all! this is mooshua (aurora, moosh, mooshy... whatever you wanna call me). sorry about my sudden leave and completely deleting my internet footprint. I wasn't... feeling too hot? and I wanted to take a step back from everything haha. nothing to worry about now! I'm feeling loads better than I was before and I even finished my other series during my time off lol 
> 
> I'll be re-uploading the chapters for this series every other day or so because it is a behemoth and I want to make sure everything is up to standard (I'll be rereading... and editing each chapter haha). I'm still writing for this series, but I hope to bring out new chapters as soon as possible (: big thank you for all the kind words I received during my absence, it really means the world to me <3
> 
> without further ado, let's get this show started!

Once in a blue moon, you would go down to the dining hall to indulge in a late night snack after a long study session. When you arrived, you saw a few other students already doing the same, carrying around cups of instant ramen or snacks from the vending machine to eat after a long study session.

All normal, _except_ there was a ruckus happening at the table smack dab in the middle of the room. You resisted the urge to sigh when you realized it was the volleyball club causing all the commotion. Some kids grumbled past you as they left, complaining about the noise level so late in the night which caused you to sink your shoulders in embarrassment as manager of the club. You were about to turn on your heel and leave, but you were immediately spotted.

“Ah, [Surname]!” You turned your head and saw Goshiki approach, a smile plastered on his face. “What are you doing down here so late?”

“I should be asking you the same…” you mumbled out as you looked at the group. They seemed more animated and riled up than usual. The boys at the table waved at you and you reluctantly waved back. “Shouldn’t you guys be resting after today’s workout? The conditioning Coach Washijou had you guys do at the end of practice was tough.”

Goshiki nodded his head like an excited puppy. “We did rest! But then Tendou showed me a video about these super spicy noodles and he said that Ushijima could probably beat me at eating the noodles faster. So I challenged Ushijima to an eat-off! Luckily, Tendou had a box of the noodles in his room and the rest of the team is joining in as well!”

In an attempt to stop yourself from laughing at his naiveté, you bit your bottom lip. Tendou had Goshiki playing right into the palm of his hand. You held back from telling him this as he dragged you to the table the others were sitting at.

“We need an unbiased judge to proctor this challenge; it’s a good thing you showed up.” Goshiki was absolutely beaming by now. His rivalry with Ushijima knows no bounds. “[Surname] will be proctoring the challenge for us!”

“Don’t go lugging [Surname] around, Goshiki,” Shirabu sighed out and then pulled a chair for you to sit in. Goshiki immediately released your wrist and then began to apologize while also earning a light whack to the back of his head from Shirabu. 

“It’s fine!” You suddenly felt really bad for the first year. His relationship with the setter wasn’t the best off the court. “I had nothing to do in my dorm anyway... so I guess this could kill some time.”

Tendou began to flail his arms excitedly into the air. “Yeah! The more the merrier! Now that Kenjirou isn’t proctoring, he can join in on the noodle festivities!” 

“Yeah,” Shirbu said and then looked at the black noodle cup. Something about it just screamed danger to his intestines. “No thanks, Tendou.”

“Ah, there he is….” Tendou hummed with his eyes closed and then crossed his arms. “The killer of fun.”

_“Excuse me?”_

“Hm?” Tendou mused out and then began to pour hot water in the aligned noodle cups.

Shirabu narrowed his eyes for a moment while Tendou smiled as innocently as possible.

“Just make me a cup…” Shirabu said, giving in to his senior's persuasive means. Tendou merely cackled as he grabbed another bowl of noodles from the side. 

_Another pawn to play with for Tendou,_ you thought as Shirabu left the table to grab an extra pair of chopsticks for himself. _How scary!_

“Hey, just how spicy can these noodles be?” Semi asked as he inspected the red packet by lifting it up into the light. Joining his side, Oohira stared at the liquid sauce packet. He gave a half-crooked smile that showed _maybe_ eating spicy noodles right before bed wasn’t the best idea.

“I heard these noodles are really spicy… like to the point that people have breathing problems from eating them,” you chimed in.

The two shuddered at the thought of potentially being hospitalized from eating a cup of noodles.

“You don’t think we’ll die from eating this stuff...” Semi muttered as he tossed the sauce packet back to the pile sitting on the table. “Right?”

“If it was made to be eaten,” Ushijima began in a nonchalant manner, “then the noodles cannot be too terrifying.”

The other members nodded in agreement with their captain while Goshiki looked fired up and ready to devour the noodles. The dining hall was nearly empty besides you and the rest of the volleyball team by now. It’d probably take only ten minutes to finish this whole challenge if they ate fast enough which meant you could go to sleep on time for the next day.

“Ta-da!” Tendou presented the seven cups of instant noodles and slid them across the table to each member. The sauce packets were in the middle and each person grabbed one for their cup.

“Are there any rules that I should know before you guys start?” you asked, fiddling with the stopwatch that Shirabu had given to you before he decided to join the challenge. "I don't want to accidentally mess this up."

“Yeah, a couple. You're going to be recording the times once someone finishes eating. Whoever finishes last loses, but,” Yamagata pointed his finger to the clustering of milk boxes, “whoever drinks the milk first before everyone is finished eating is the _automatic_ loser.”

For a moment, you kept silent, completely baffled. What went on in their minds? This just seemed like pure torture.

“Wow, you guys are taking this to a new level…”

“It’s all just good, friendly fun! Also,” Tendou squeezed his sauce packet into his cup and gave a devious chuckle, “loser has to pay for yakiniku this weekend.”

Ah, suddenly everything made sense. The reason the other guys joined in was just an attempt at scoring free barbecue on the weekend. You couldn’t help but sympathize with the loser as their wallet would be feeling significantly lighter.

With the rules laid out, the rest of the guys followed Tendou's lead and began to pour the sauce into their noodles.

“Oh God, it looks just like blood…” Semi remarked as he made a disgusted face and stirred his chopsticks into the cup.

“And this smell…” Shirabu added, pinching his nose. Even you could smell how potent the spice was. 

“Any last words, guys?” Oohira chipped in; there was a feeling of dread falling on each member.

“Itadakimasu,” Ushijima answered and placed his hands together.

There was a short exchange in looks between the other guys, but nevertheless, they followed suit. With everyone ready, you cleared your throat.

“Alright… ready in three, two, one.”

You pressed the start button on the stopwatch. Everyone except Shirabu, Tendou, and Ushijima shoved as many noodles into their mouths as humanly possible as soon as the challenge commenced. However, this proved to be inefficient as Semi, Oohira, Yamagata, and Goshiki began to choke on their food due to how spicy it was. Goshiki's eyes teared up in agony while Semi and Yamagata opened their mouths and dropped the noodles back into the cup in order to relieve themselves of the pain. Only Oohira continued to chew his mouthful, albeit in a very slow manner. 

_“Eet’s sew hoawt!”_ Goshiki cried out while trying to slurp more noodles into his mouth. He chewed as fast as he could and opened his mouth in between to mitigate the intense spice. 

“Who the hell eats this stuff!” Semi yelled out in agreement and slammed his fist onto the table in frustration. His face was turning red and small beads of sweat were forming on his forehead.

Nodding his head furiously at Semi’s outburst, Yamagata began to shove another (this time smaller than his first attempt) mouthful of noodles while Semi did the exact opposite and ate little by little. Shirabu and Tendou ate small bits of the noodle at first in order to build up their spice tolerance before attempting to eat larger quantities. The only one eating normally was Ushijima; he ate at a regular pace and it didn’t even look like the spice affected him. 

“I’m done,” Ushijima declared and then showed his empty cup to you. For a second you didn’t know if you should be amazed or downright scared of his spice tolerance. 

“Was it not spicy for you, Ushijima?” you asked while writing down his time. The other members stared in shock at how unstirred he was to the whole ordeal. 

“No, it was very spicy. My mouth is on fire.”

You wouldn’t have guessed it because of the blasé air around him. Not noticing your dazed state, Ushijima unzipped his jacket and took it off. He looked to his right and then to his left, soon realizing that no one else was near finishing. He eyed the cartons of milk on the table and sighed in discontent.

_Is this guy even human? How can he eat these death noodles without showing an ounce of pain?_

_Ushijima is too powerful on and off the court…_

_I expected Wakatoshi to finish first, but even this is a bit much!_

“I-I’m finished…” Oohira presented his empty cup to you and coughed in agony. You recorded his time and whispered words of encouragement because it seemed as if he needed them now more than ever. He slumped into his seat and you swore you saw his soul leave his body.

The rest of the competitors began to amp themselves up as they shoved the noodles into their mouths. At this point their taste buds were completely burned off and the only thing on their minds was not losing. 

“Done!” Semi shoved the cup in your face and you noted that his lips were swollen as you recorded his time.

“Alakazam!” Tendou showcased his cup in an extravagant manner. All the noodles were gone. This was a surprise since Tendou was typically a slow eater. 

Following him, Shirabu pushed his cup in front of you without saying a word. His eyes looked dead. There was an orange lining around his lips which contrasted his paling face. 

You recorded each time and looked at the last two competitors: Goshiki and Yamagata. They were both chewing as fervently as possible, their table manners a thing of the past with a yakiniku bill at stake.

Though neck-in-neck, Goshiki finished a second faster than Yamagata and slammed his cup down, yelling out in victory. Small bits of spit landed on the table and you jumped back in revulsion.

“Goshiki! That’s disgusting!” you screeched at the younger boy while also writing down his time. Shirabu gave another light whack to the back of Goshiki’s head in annoyance, but he didn’t care. The pain in his mouth took complete priority. Yamagata groaned in agony and cursed at being last. He pushed his empty cup away from him and then pressed his face into the table.

Wasting no time, Ushijima reached over and grabbed a small milk box for himself. The rest of the guys followed and took a relief sip in silence, a moment of content shared between the competitors now that the challenge was finished. Nearly everyone at the table looked like they experienced a near death situation (Ushijima, the outlier, kept his usual visage).

As they regained their strength, you passed napkins to everyone at the table and motioned around the lip area. Shirabu pulled out his phone and used his camera to inspect his face. His eyes widened and in a flustered moment he quickly wiped the noodle tint off of his lips as fast as he could. Tendou cackled at the embarrassed second year while Semi patted Yamagata on the back. Oohira finally regained his composure and then stretched his arms out, ready to go back to his dorm.

“Our miracle boy Wakatoshi prevails once again!” Tendou jumped out of his seat and then pranced around the ace. He did little jazz hands and you couldn’t help but laugh at how ridiculous the scene in front of you looked. “Tsutomu, it’s another tally on the loser side for you.”

In a burst of adrenaline, Goshiki pushed himself up out of his seat and then raised a fist into the air. “Just wait! I’ll prepare myself for the next challenge and show Ushijima that I’m capable! I’ll develop the highest spice tolerance on the entire team!”

At his declaration, you couldn’t help but giggle into your hand. He would always get fired up for the most unusual things when it came to Ushijima. There was something very endearing about his dedication towards becoming the best ace in every possible sense.

“You nearly finished last, Goshiki. Maybe you should make more capable goals before you challenge Ushijima.” Shirabu’s gaze was icy cold as he delivered his words to the first year. He sighed out in exasperation and then began to pick up the empty noodle cups to start the clean up process.

With their little challenge done and over with, you checked the time on the screen of your phone. It was already past 11 p.m.; way over the time you expected this all to end. Picking up some of the trash on the table, you helped the boys clean the mess they made. 

“Go back to your dorms,” you instructed as the last of the trash was picked up. “You all still have practice scheduled for tomorrow and it’s already late.”

“Thanks for helping us, [Surname]!” Goshiki exclaimed and then gave a wave. The other members expressed their thanks (including Yamagata who was still rather depressed about losing the whole ordeal) as well and wished you a good night.

* * *

“What do you mean they’re not feeling well? They were perfectly fine last night!” you exclaimed in shock as Ushijima kept a cool appearance.

“They’re having… digestive issues.” 

“That’s half of the starting lineup!” Frustration began to kick in. You should have never helped them with their dumb little noodle challenge. “Coach Washijou is going to be _so_ pissed, what will we even say to him? ‘Oh, Goshiki, Shirabu, Semi, and Yamagata are skipping today because they ate some spicy noodles late last night and turns out they couldn't digest any of it!”

“Yes, that sounds about right.”

You pushed your hair back in frustration. Ushijima was a smart guy (despite being as dense as a pile of bricks), but sometimes he was so hard to work with.

“So they’re all in their dorms right now?”

“Yes, Goshiki has it particularly bad and had to skip some of his classes.” 

“Well, thanks for letting me know before practice,” you grumbled out. “Ushijima, you should have stopped Tendou from messing with Goshiki. You know how riled up he gets when it comes to a challenge.”

He took a second to think and then let out a rare smile. “Perhaps, but it seemed like a fun activity for everyone as a team bonding exercise. Tendou said Goshiki was very excited after watching a few videos online about it.”

Blinking twice, you stared at Ushijima as if he had grown another head. Then, after a short pause in conversation, you laughed into your hand. He furrowed his brows together.

“Is something funny?”

“Yes,” you chirped in response. “You really do well to look after this team, Ushijima.”

“Of course,” he spoke in a diligent manner. “It’s something I must do.”

“Well, I’ll let Coach Washijou know. Thanks again.” You waved a farewell as you made your leave. A part of you dreaded going into Coach’s office because the story just sounded flat out stupid: how could a cup of ramen noodles be so formidable to the point that it knocks out half of a starting lineup? It was a good thing there were no practice matches scheduled today. 

Before you rounded the corner at the end of the hall, Ushijima caught up to you, stopping you for a moment before making it to Washijou's office.

“I can tell Coach Washijou instead, if you would prefer," he said. 

Okay, now _this_ was definitely weird.

“Are you... sure?" you asked in disbelief. It was like he was asking for a death sentence. "I mean, I need to grab some paperwork from him for the next tournament, so this really isn’t putting a damper on things.”

“Yes, I believe Coach is a bit lenient sometimes on me. I think this will be beneficial.”

His reasoning did make sense. After a moment of thought, you continued walking, looking back over your shoulder as an invitation for him to follow.

“Fine, but you need to make sure you get ready for practice on time as well.”

At your words, he nodded in response and you both continued towards Coach Washijou’s office to deliver the unfortunate news.

* * *

Things couldn’t have turned out worse.

In a twist of events, Ushijima’s appearance did _not_ make things better. Coach Washijou was already in a sour mood and hearing that half of the starting line up was out sick today because of cup noodles made him blow up. Now, here you both were, sitting on your knees in complete defeat as Coach Washijou drilled his anger into your heads. It must have been at least five minutes of being chewed out before he dismissed you both to get ready for afternoon practice.

“That,” you sighed out in mental exhaustion, “did not go as planned.”

Ushijima nodded his head in silence. Although he kept his same stoic facade, you noticed that his lips were pressed into a thin line; he obviously felt a bit of frustration.

“Sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.” You waved a hand in the air to dismiss the topic. “Let’s just get ready for practice...”

* * *

The practice session turned out harsher than expected. With a few members missing, Coach Washijou opted to do more conditioning for the team in order to strengthen their stamina. Running around the entire campus in pairs, ab work-outs, serving practice, and then playing 3-on-3 match ups back-to-back was brutal to even watch. By the time all drills were finished, everyone was completely exhausted. As you passed out towels and water bottles to the boys, Coach Washijou beckoned you and Ushijima to him before dismissing the team.

The old man cleared his throat before he began, “Sunday. Instead of having a day off, the ones who couldn’t come will be doing the same drills we did today with the rest of the cup noodle nimrods. Starts at 3PM. I’ll drop by and check to see if everyone is there. Clean up and you’re free to go now.”

You swore a part of you died right then and there. 

* * *

Instead of the boys eating yakiniku that weekend, they were all stuck doing drills at the gym. Goshiki, Shirabu, Semi, and Yamagata were chewed out as soon as Coach Washijou stepped foot onto the wood paneled floors, berating them for participating in such an idiotic challenge. It was the same scene you shared with Ushijima when you went to his office. You couldn't help but sympathize with the boys, especially Goshiki who just about nearly cried. 

Once Coach Washijou was finished with his lecturing, he monitored their practice alongside with you by his side and yelled out notable flaws in their play. No one was safe from his demon coaching. Practice continued until the sun finally set. The look of pure exhaustion was evident on everyone’s face. 

The spicy noodle incident was one to never be forgotten.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> feel free to hit me up on [tumblr](https://mooshys.tumblr.com/) or [twitter!](https://twitter.com/himooshys)


	2. butts up

Some days, the boys of the Shiratorizawa volleyball club were incredibly productive during free practice.

This was not one of those days.

You were coming back from the fountain station with a cart of water bottles when you noticed Goshiki, Tendou, and Kawanishi scattered at the back zone of one side of the court; on the opposite side, Semi, Ushijima, Oohira, Yamagata, and Shirabu were lined up with volleyballs in hand. To your utter horror, Semi began his service ritual and then proceeded to smash the ball onto the other side with a powerful jump serve. The ball narrowly missed Tendou and you saw the red haired boy shudder.

“Damn it!” Semi cursed out and then moved away from the end line. Shirabu instead took his place and began his own service ritual. “I was _so_ close to hitting him!”

“What are you guys doing?!” you yelled out, ditching the cart to stop Shirabu from serving. The three targets standing at the back zone stared at you as if _your_ outburst was weird. “How is this even considered practice? I know I said that you guys should work on your serves a bit more, but this isn’t what I meant!”

“Ah, [Name],” Tendou chided you as he approached; he began to put his arms into the air in a grandiose manner as he spoke. “This… _This!_ Is the beauty of volleyball. The rush you get when you feel a serve nearly skim your head is beyond your wildest dreams! Standing helplessly on the court with your back turned away from the server, it's a feeling like no other!”

You weren’t even trying to hide your shock; your mouth fell open and no words came out. How does a person even respond to that? The words of a masochist should never be shared aloud.

“We played 3-on-3 and the losing team’s punishment was butts up.” Shirabu put a hand over his forehead in embarrassment at Tendou’s explanation. “Libero and ref for the round get free serves.”

There was a moment of silence all around.

“Are you guys...” You were still at a loss for words as you motioned your hand in front of your face to finish your sentence. The jump serves they practiced were like rockets. Getting hit by one in the head could concuss a person. _“Complete idiots?!”_

The third years laughed while the younger team members looked a bit embarrassed at your outburst. It was rare that you got outwardly mad at them. 

“Don’t worry, [Surname]. We’re not going a hundred percent with our serves for the punishment. We’re really just practicing our aim with this.” Oohira calmed you down and then pointed to the members on the other side of the court. “See? No one’s been hurt.”

You took a glance at the three members on the other side. Tendou was jumping around Kawanishi to hype him up while Goshiki was stretching his calves; they were waiting for the service punishment to continue. It didn't seem like they minded this type of... practice.

“A-Alright… but don’t go too hard with your serves!" You gave a hesitant nod at the boys and then slowly started to walk back to the sidelines. "We have a practice match scheduled in two days and I don’t want to have to take anyone off the roster.”

“That’s doable.”

“Fine with me, someone just hit Tendou!”

“Kenjirou, server up!”

Amidst all the yelling, Ushijima kept silent and spun a volleyball between his hands. He kept focused, paying little attention to Shirabu as he went up to the line to start his service ritual. Similar to Semi, Shirabu narrowly missed his target (Goshiki).

“Shirabu always aims for me!” Goshiki whined out and the other boys chuckled. However, you couldn’t feel yourself relax as you saw Ushijima go up to the line. His service game during practice today was better than usual. Your hands started to feel clammy and you wondered if you should get a first aid kit.

Ushijima performed his service ritual, bouncing the volleyball onto the ground a couple of times in order to clear his mind; you noticed his running start and his form in the air were near perfect. You probably would have admired it if you didn’t have to worry about the three human targets on the other side of the court. As soon as Ushijima’s hand made contact with the ball, a loud booming sound filled the air. Your jaw dropped and—most likely due to the adrenaline rushing through you—the events unfolded before you in slow motion.

It all played like a horror movie. The volleyball made direct contact with Tendou’s backside; he yelped out in pain and fell to the ground, pressing a hand on the affected area as a means to alleviate the soon to be bruise that was bound to form. Due to the spin and sheer force Ushijima put into his serve, the ball ended up ricocheting off of Tendou and hitting Goshiki right on the side of his face. Kawanishi, the only one who was spared from Ushijima's serve, stared bug-eyed at the other two. 

“GOOOAAALLL!” Semi and Yamagata shouted and then proceeded to slap Ushijima on the back to congratulate him. Oohira and Shirabu were the only ones who looked mildly concerned at the injured members. In contrast, you began to freak out.

“What did I just say?!” You ran to Tendou’s side and checked if he was okay. Goshiki had already gotten up and was rubbing the side of his face with his hand. “Ushijima, you didn’t back off on your serve at all! Help me with Tendou!” 

Kawanishi snapped out of his daze and assisted you with supporting Tendou while Shirabu and Oohira grabbed two chairs. With the help of the members, Tendou was securely propped onto the seat. Goshiki sat himself down on the other chair. 

“How many fingers am I holding up, Goshiki?” you questioned him and put your hand in front of his face, holding up three fingers at a reasonable distance.

“Three?”

You added another finger and moved your hand further away. “And what about now?”

“...Four?”

“Okay, now open your eyes and don’t blink. I’m just going to do a quick check.” You moved in closer to his face to look at his pupils. Goshiki almost broke eye contact in embarrassment, but maintained himself. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. “Is your head throbbing? Are you dizzy?”

“N-No, I’m okay, [Surname]!” He averted eye contact this time and a faint pink tint was noticeable on his face; you were a little too close for comfort as you checked for the telltale signs of a concussion. 

You paused and looked at him. Even though the ball took a direct hit at Tendou, you were still worried about the first year. In your eyes, he was as fragile as glass.

“You two sit here and wait while I grab some ice packs. And for the rest of you,” a fire suddenly grew within you. That sinking feeling you had about this was a hundred percent warranted. “Don’t do anything stupid like that again. Just from one serve you nearly took out two members! You turned to the other third years. "Ushijima, you didn’t back off from your serve at all; just what were you thinking? To be honest, I think Coach Washijou’s right. All of you have taken too many balls to the head that you can’t properly use your brains now!”

Letting out all your frustration exhausted you. You waved a dismissive hand and then left the gym in a rush, refusing to spare them another glance. 

“I’ve never seen [Surname] so upset before,” Shirabu commented as the sound of your footsteps disappeared.

The others nodded, making whispers of agreement amongst themselves.

“Do you think [Surname] is still mad about the noodle incident?” Semi asked, taking a guess as to why you were more on edge today. “Because that seems so long ago.”

Yamagata shuddered as he thought about the pain his intestines went through. “Dude, enough with the noodle incident.”

“You still owe us yakiniku, Hayato,” Oohira chimed in. The libero’s face turned to stone as Semi bellowed out a laugh, causing Oohira to pat the poor guy on the back as a means to comfort him.

“Reon, that isn’t the point right now! [Surname]’s mad because Wakatoshi nearly killed Tsutomu and Tendou,” Yamagata countered. He had honestly forgotten about paying for yakiniku and would rather not talk about it right now. "Let's focus on that instead..."

 _Ushijima was lectured by [Surname],_ Goshiki laughed inside of his head. Suddenly, the ace of the team turned to him and made direct eye contact, frightening the boy. _Crap, can he read minds too?_

“Goshiki, Tendou,” Ushijima began. His tone was soft. “I’m sorry.”

“Wakatoshi, it’s fine.” Tendou accepted the apology and then leaned back in his chair, languidly waving a hand in front of his face to shoo away any sort of guilt Ushijima felt. Goshiki nodded his head to his senior's words in agreement, still silently wondering if he had any sort of telepathic abilities. “Once the volleyball’s in your hand there’s no stopping you… but I know a way you can make it up to us.”

Ushijima raised his eyebrow and listened to what his teammate had to say.

* * *

Returning back to the gym with two ice packs in hand, you honestly couldn’t believe the sight in front of you when you opened the sliding door. This time, Ushijima was the one standing in the back zone; he was on the side opposite of the servers, his hands covering his neck as he patiently waited for punishment. Goshiki and Tendou were in line waiting to make a serve while Semi was already in midair for his own. The sheer force he put into the ball was prevalent in the cracking sound that echoed in the gym as soon as his hand made contact. Ushijima didn't flinch in the slightest when the ball landed right next to his feet.

“You’re kidding me! I nearly had it!” Semi shouted as he ran his hands through his hair in annoyance. “Server up, Tsutomu!”

You slowly approached the serving group, face blank and hand tightly clutching onto both ice packs. Goshiki, the first one to notice your arrival, smiled at you, his eyes lighting up.

“Oh, [Surname]! You’re ba— _ACK!”_

Not allowing him the chance to finish his sentence, you promptly pelted Goshiki with the ice pack in your hand. You had asked them to do _one_ thing. Sit still and wait for you to come back with ice packs! They couldn’t even be bothered to wait around for a second. 

“Tendou, you’re next!” you yelled, reeling your arm back to pitch the other ice pack as hard as possible. Maybe this would finally knock some sense into him. The eccentric boy jumped at the sound of his name and used the bodies of his team members to shield him from your wrath. No one was safe from your rage at the moment. 

“[Surname], calm down!” Oohira once again tried to reason with you this time from a distance as he was fearful of the ice pack in your hand. “Wakatoshi did this voluntarily!”

“It still doesn’t make it right!” you retorted and approached the group of servers. Shoving the ice pack into Tendou’s hands, you continued to scold them. “Two of you already got hurt from doing this, what makes you think you won’t get a bigger injury?" No one responded which only made you more frustrated. You crossed your arms in front of your chest and turned your head the other way, refusing to make eye contact with anyone else in the room. "You know what? I’m done with you all today. Clean and lock up by yourselves tonight, I’m going back to my dorm.”

You promptly turned on your heels and made your exit. Dealing with these boys all the time really pushed you to your limits. Once you were gone, a sense of guilt filled the air, shared between the members of the club.

“[Surname] really cares about our wellbeing…” Goshiki lamented while pressing his ice pack onto his cheek. 

“Yeah… she was really upset about all this,” Semi added. Kawanishi nodded his head at his senior’s words and tossed the volleyball he had in his hands into the rolling basket.

“Perhaps we should apologize for our actions,” Ushijima said, acknowledging the words of his teammates as he joined the rest of the group on the same side of the court.

Tendou gave an exaggerated sigh.

“We should change our ways for [Name].”

* * *

Halfway back to the dorms, you realized that you really blew up on the boys today. They were just having a bit of fun amongst themselves without having to worry about Coach Washijou yelling about every flaw they had. You reflected on this and chose to go back to the gym to make amends with them. From a distance, you could hear the sounds of shoes squeaking. You peeked your head through the sliding iron door.

And honestly, you should have expected this.

Instead of standing up straight like they previously were, the targets were now bent over so that their butts were high in the air. This time Semi, Shirabu, and Oohira were the targets lined up at the back zone.

“Ah, [Surname], you’re back,” Ushijima said aloud, the first to notice your existence. This caused the other serving members to look towards your direction. They welcomed you back in and Tendou jumped up in excitement.

“[Name]! Since you were so worried about all of us we decided to take extra precautionary measures! Now no one will get knocked in the head!” Tendou did jazz hands to present the three members who had their butts in the air. “See! The butt has the most fat, so it’ll absorb all the force outta our serves.”

Grimacing at the view, you decided that it would be best to take your leave for the day after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're unfamiliar with butts up, it's basically a juvenile punishment game. I played this a lot when I was active in my school's tennis team. During free period, we would often play a round robin set of singles with each other and the loser would be subjected to butts up. The loser stands anywhere in the service box, puts the strings of their racquet behind their head/neck (to protect themselves, haha), and waits for the winners to make their serves. The other position would be... bending down with their butts in the air at the serving side and putting the strings of their racquet in front of their butt. Yes, it's one of the scariest and funniest things to be subjected to. That's my inspiration for this chapter! I'm so surprised I didn't get concussed from playing this game lol teenage mischief at its finest
> 
> Thanks for reading! I hope you guys are staying happy and healthy :)


	3. the konbini showdown

The days without club activities were usually spent cooped up in your dorm room, studying the hours away in preparation for upcoming quizzes and exams. Today was one of the rare occasions when you finished up all your work earlier than expected. With nothing to do, you stretched on your bed and thumbed through a few books you had already read, flipping through the pages rather mindlessly in hopes that something new would pop out.

You were so accustomed to working your tail off that doing nothing felt wrong. Doing nothing felt _boring_.

So, when an abrupt knock sounded at your door, you jumped to your feet to open it, excited at what it could be.

That was, until you saw Tendou, Ushijima, Goshiki, and Semi on the other side. You had half the mind to just slam the door in their faces and pretend like you never saw them.

“[Name]! We need your help. It’s urgent!” Tendou pleaded. Standing beside him, Goshiki nodded his head in agreement with the senior’s words. The others kept quiet, waiting for Tendou to finish his pitch.

You eyed him for his almost overbearing demeanor, hesitant in what he would ask. “What... is it?”

“You’re bored, right? I can tell you’re bored.” Tendou continued his pestering, trying to sway you to join them. "You can't just stay in your room all day! It's not healthy for you."

“Can you just tell me what you need help with?”

“The konbini store showdown!” Tendou grabbed onto your wrist and pulled you out of your room. “You’re bored and we’ve got a solution! Be our judge for today.”

“Excuse me? Konbini store _what_ now?” You shut the door behind you and Tendou continued to lead you out of the dormitory. The others followed, Goshiki being the only who truly seemed excited for whatever Tendou was proposing as he had a bounce to his steps. 

“We saw a video online,” Goshiki began, causing you to inwardly groan from the last time Tendou showed the others a video challenge. “And people were making different meals with the foods sold in the konbinis! Tendou said there’s a Family Kart nearby that just opened up and he said that we should try to make our own meals.”

You were all now making your way off campus. There were a few other kids walking around and talking amongst themselves, enjoying the day through mundane and languid activities. Sometimes you wished the team would do something normal for once. Tendou, the guilty catalyst, let out a small whistle as he slung an arm around Goshiki's shoulders, pulling him closer and riling him up for this challenge.

“And why do you need someone to judge this?” you asked. "Why isn't Shirabu here? Usually he's the one proctoring these things."

“Kenjirou’s studying with Taichi,” Semi answered, this time relaxing his body.

“And how’d you get sucked into this, Semi?” you questioned. Usually he’d only join in if Oohira and Yamagata were game too. 

Instead of answering right away, Semi turned his head to the side, casting his gaze away as if embarrassed. You raised an eyebrow at his mannerisms and squinted your eyes, trying to analyze every micro-movement.

“...Winner gets Jäagen-dazs for the next three days.” 

There was a moment of silence between you two. He knew how ridiculous he must have sounded and chose to avoid looking at you in fear of you scrutinizing his entire being. Tendou noticed the deadpan look on your face and cackled at Semi's bashfulness. There was always some sort of ridiculous catch when it came to these challenges Tendou proposed.

“Hey, hey, [Name]! No need to get like that. It’s just good fun for us after a hard week of practice!" He paused and then chuckled. "It’s not like we’re eating those cup noodles again, anyway!”

At the mention of the noodle incident, Semi and Goshiki blanched. They were the ones who were hit the hardest by the noodles, the mere memory causing them to shiver. 

“I believe Yamagata still has not treated us to yakiniku,” Ushijima interjected.

“You’re right, Wakatoshi!” Tendou let out a gasp at his realization. He grabbed onto Ushijima and Semi’s shoulders, pulling them closer as he spoke in a lower voice. “Maybe we need to give him a little reminder.”

You eyed the trio, but then brushed it off. They were talking amongst themselves while Goshiki, the youngest of the bunch, was stuck in his own world.

“Got a game plan to beat Ushijima?” You nudged the up-and-coming ace. His eyes twinkled in anticipation.

“Yes, [Surname]! I saw a few reference videos, so I think this time I’ll beat Ushijima.” 

Upon hearing his name, said captain turned back to glance at the younger boy.

“Good luck, Goshiki,” Ushijima said in his usual uniform tone. Semi snickered into his hand while Tendou patted Goshiki on the back as a means to cheer him up. It wasn’t that Ushijima was looking down on the boy; he actually wished him well, but his concise speech was sometimes taken the wrong way.

A fire was building up within Goshiki as his only goal for today was to beat his senior in this challenge.

* * *

The Family Kart was bright and clean. Only a few other students were sitting at the ledge table, eating popsicles and chatting about their classes. The store clerk eyed your group of giants and then went back to wiping the counters. 

“[Name], you wait outside for five minutes while we make our meals and then you’ll pick your favorite, m’kay?” Tendou quickly pushed you out the automatic sliding doors. From behind your shoulder you saw Goshiki run around and pick a few items in his hands while Ushijima and Semi walked down the aisles in a composed manner. “No cheating here, nope! We need complete and absolute impartiality from you!”

You groaned at him and then sat yourself down in the outdoor area. Scrolling through your phone, you reasoned with yourself that whatever they were making couldn’t be _too_ terribly disgusting. Peeking a bit through the glass of the doors, you saw Semi yelling at Tendou; they seemed to be fighting over the microwave, Tendou holding a packet of noodles as if it were a weapon. Amidst the commotion between those two, Goshiki was stirring furiously and Ushijima continued walking around the store. 

You pressed the palms of your hands to your forehead and prayed that you wouldn’t get sick.

* * *

In front of you were four different concoctions. 

(Your mind really had no nicer word to call the four dishes in front of you.) 

“The fruits of our labor! Can you feel the love, [Name]?” Tendou cheered and presented each meal. They were sitting on the table ledge and numbers written on napkins were next to them. “Pick a meal, any meal to start!”

Your eyes glossed over the table and you reached for entree number two. It looked the most normal in comparison to the other dishes. 

“And entry number two is chosen first! Will it be a winner? A loser? Only time will tell!” Tendou continued to narrate your actions.

Semi shook his head in disapproval of Tendou’s erratic nature from the sidelines. The group was still out in public, and yet Tendou didn't seem to care in the slightest. From behind the counter, the store clerk looked at your group like you were all crazy. You tried your best to brush off the embarrassment, instead focusing more on the dish in hand. Inside the bowl was a rice mixture topped with nori, melted cheese, and crushed chips. You dug your spoon and tried to get a little bit of everything in one bite. 

_Not bad,_ you thought as you chewed. The crispy texture the chips had to offer was a nice contrast with the rice and cheese. You realized that the rice must have been a crushed onigiri because you also tasted tuna.

You nodded your head in approval. “It’s good."

“Contestant number two get a ‘It’s good’ rating! Things are really heating up! Will dish number two be the winner of today’s showdown?” Tendou had picked up a pair of chopsticks from the side and was using it like a microphone. The store clerk was now looking towards your group expectantly and the students sitting at the end of the ledge table were whispering to each other, most likely gossiping about whatever the hell you guys were doing. “Oh, and our lovely manager goes and grabs for the cup belonging to contestant number three! Will the taste of contestant three’s dish be better than the last?”

You looked into the cup. It was instant noodles with a soft boiled egg cut in half, small sausages, and melted cheese. The aroma was familiar and inviting. Upon closer inspection you realized that bonito flakes were added, giving a richer color to the broth.

_It smells nice,_ was your first thought. Your mouth was watering and demanding for a bite. Upon first taste, you realized that the noodles absorbed the broth nicely and the addition of the egg and sausages must have thickened the soup. The melted cheese, however, was not pairing as nicely as it did for the previous dish.

“It tastes good, but the cheese kind of ruins it…”

“Ouch!” Tendou placed a hand on his heart and made a pained face. “Poor contestant number three! Delicious, but mozzarella ruined it. Next!”

The other three were still remaining nonpartisan, but you could have sworn you saw a flash of disappointment on Goshiki’s face. After looking at the two meals left, you picked dish number one to taste. When you looked into the bowl, you felt fear rise within you.

“Uh, what’s this supposed to be?” you asked as you peered at what looked to be an udon based dish. There was nothing traditional about it

“A delicious meal!” Tendou replied in a chipper tone.

At his answer, you bit your bottom lip and mentally prepared yourself to not throw up. The noodles were sitting in a very thick, dark brown sludge-like broth. You really couldn’t distinguish what it was. Using your chopsticks, you picked up a thick noodle; the brown soup (if you could call it that) clung onto it. 

_Please don’t kill me,_ you prayed and then quickly ate the single udon noodle. Instead of a salty taste, the noodle was sweet. 

And cold.

You paled at the realization of what must have been added to thicken the soup.

“Who thought it would be a good idea to use chocolate ice cream as a broth base for udon?” You raised your voice a bit and then faltered at the end, remembering that you were in a public space. It was a good thing you only ate a single noodle. "Is this supposed to be a joke?"

Tendou shrugged his shoulders as an answer while Semi laugh into his hand. Goshiki expressed his sympathies through his gaze and Ushijima let out a small frown at the thought of an over sugared udon noodle.

“So... do you like it?” Tendou pestered and put his mock mic in front of your face. 

“No,” you sternly said as you moved away from the dish. Just the thought of udon and ice cream together repulsed you.

“What an insult to fine cuisine!” The red headed boy expressed shock through widening his eyes and covering his opened mouth with his hand. He pushed the final plate your way. On it was a bread bun sliced in half and filled with miscellaneous items. “And our final contestant’s entry is... a yakisoba sandwich with an interesting twist!”

_Nothing could be worse than the chocolate ice cream udon,_ you reasoned with yourself as you took a closer inspection of what exactly was inside the bread. You noted the yakisoba noodles were a beautiful golden color, fried to perfection, but there was also a sausage link inside and little bits of corn. Small, delicate lines of mayonnaise decorated the top. Closing your eyes, you took a decent bite.

Suddenly, your mouth was full of explosive flavors. The subtle sweetness of the corn mingled with the salty sausage; there was also a slight tang from the pickled ginger and the spice from the yakisoba made your lips tingle. Another sweetness—it tasted like honey—flooded your taste buds as you continued chewing. To top it all off, the soft cushion of the bread acted as a medium to absorb the oils from the stuffing.

“T-This is,” you began, tears starting to form at the corners of your eyes. Semi, Goshiki, and Tendou’s jaws dropped at your passionate reaction while Ushijima stared at you, albeit paying a bit more attention. _“Pure gold._ I’ve never tasted anything so delicious before in my life...”

“Uh, [Surname],” Semi took a step and shook your shoulders to bring you back to reality. “You’re kidding right? C’mon it can’t be _that_ good.” 

Shaking your head, you handed Semi the yakisoba sandwich creation. He hesitantly took a bite and, after his first chew, his eyes lit up. From where you stood, you could see fireworks go off from behind him. He squeezed his fist until the whites of his knuckles became visible and then covered his eyes with the back of his forearm.

“There’s no way something can taste this good…”

“Let me try it, [Surname]!” Goshiki joined your side and then took a bite. As soon as he tasted the godly entree, his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and his entire body froze. A single tear escaped his eye and he continued to chew in a slow manner, trying to savor the flavor while also not wanting to admit defeat.

“Well, I guess that does it,” Tendou silently placed the chopsticks onto the table and then turned to Ushijima. “Congrats to our miracle boy, Wakatoshi!”

Not caring the the slightest for victory, you and the rest of the guys began to fight over who got to eat the last bite of Ushijima's creation while Tendou sulked to his udon dish. The clerk of the convenience store approached Ushijima with a notepad and began to converse with him in an excited manner, fervently writing ever word that came out of Ushijima's mouth.

“Let go, Semi!” You elbowed him in the stomach, but this proved ineffective. 

“I work out _all_ the time, I deserve this more than you!” he argued and then snatched the sandwich from you, lifting it high up in the air. "Lemme have the last bite!"

“Yeah, well, I _deal_ with you all the time, so I deserve it more!”

“If anyone _deserves_ it,” Goshiki interjected while reaching up to grab the yakisoba sandwich creation from Semi. “It’s me! The up-and-coming ace of Shiratorizawa!”

As the three of you fought, Tendou slurped the udon noodles coated with chocolate ice cream. He smacked his lips after eating a mouthful, his eyes lighting up at the taste.

_It’s honestly not bad,_ he thought and then dug his chopsticks in for more. _Dessert udon will be the next big thing!_

* * *

“Just look at what we’ve done,” you muttered out, staring at the big poster plastered on the door of the Family Kart. It was Ushijima standing tall and mighty, holding his yakisoba sandwich creation. The words _“Buy now! The Ushijima Special!”_ were printed in bold letters around him as he stood with his arms crossed in front of his chest, taking a power stance.

“All because of the konbini showdown,” Semi acknowledged and stared at the poster alongside you. He let out a sigh and shook his head. 

“That’s our miracle boy, Wakatoshi,” Tendou added and pranced inside the facility. "C'mon, guys! We can't stay out here and admire his poster all day long!"

The door shut behind him and, before going in, you and Semi stood out for a while longer, still feeling dumbfounded that a new menu item was created by Ushijima of all people. Who knew something good would come out of this silly challenge?

“Let’s just go in already,” you said and took the first steps inside to discreetly buy an Ushijima Special.

* * *

**EXTRA:**

_Of all places to see his face,_ Oikawa thought as he kicked a rock on the ground in annoyance. He scowled at the poster of Ushijima plastered on the door of the convenience store. _Posing with a yakisoba sandwich? Please, this is cheap even for you, Ushiwaka bastard._

For a second, he imagined his own face on the poster and then almost spat in disgust. He initially wanted to go inside to grab a light snack after practice, but his appetite was now quelled after seeing his eternal rival. As he stood in front of the store, two kids walked right past him and headed towards the door; they giggled to each other and playfully intertwined their arms together.

“Let’s get the Ushijima Special!” one of them said aloud while the other nodded in agreement.

Oikawa slumped his shoulders and shoved his hands deeper into the pockets of his tracksuit pants. He cursed under his breath and continued back on his way home, silently wondering to himself what he has to do to make an Oikawa Special.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh gosh, I'm so sorry for getting this one up a little bit late u_u I've been really busy with life that I really haven't been online as much as I used to be! I'm still trying to get things done in a timely manner, but I do apologize in advance for late updates and such haha.
> 
> Thank you for reading! Stay happy and stay healthy!
> 
> Peace.


	4. the guess monster methodology

“H-How is this even possible?” Shirabu questioned aloud in his seat. He flipped through a small stack of papers with an expression of awe on his face as he carefully skimmed each page. Sitting beside him, Tendou hummed in acknowledgement while taking small bites of his lunch.

“What’s going on here?” you asked while placing your tray down across from where Shirabu sat. His eyes were still glued on the pages in front of him.

“Tendou’s exams,” Shirabu flipped the papers so you could see. On the page he showed you, there were multiple red circles around the question numbers, indicating correct answers all around. “It’s nearly perfect! He almost got every single answer right, and he said that he didn’t even study for it…”

 _So that’s what he’s all surprised about,_ you thought as you dug your chopsticks into your bowl of rice.

“Well... that’s Tendou for you.”

“I don’t understand it,” Shirabu sighed out and then handed the test papers back to Tendou. The red haired boy pushed them aside and continued to eat his lunch. “I’d have to do hours of studying in order to get near perfect marks like this.”

“I have a super special technique that helps me get these grades,” Tendou said as he leaned in closer to the second year. There was a mischievous glint in his eyes as he spoke. You raised an eyebrow, curious as to what he was going to say.

“Technique?” the younger boy asked; he focused all his attention wholly on Tendou.

Watching their exchange from the other side of the table, you took a bite out of your karaage and noted its crispiness. You weren't completely sure what Tendou was up to, so instead you chose to quietly observe.

“Yes,” Tendou continued and then threw an arm around Shirabu to pull him closer. The setter looked mildly uncomfortable, but remained patient in hopes of his senior actually offering useful advice. The scene in front of you played out as if Tendou were a piper trying to lure some helpless animals. “Kenjirou, I’ll teach you something that only the _elite_ know. Only the top dogs can _truly_ grasp this methodology. _Bah!_ Even the top scorers have trouble understanding... but as your senpai I’ll make sure to show my precious kouhai the ropes.”

You swore you saw a sparkle in Shirabu’s eyes.

_Better to stop this now._

“Hey, this karaage tastes pretty good. It’s extra crispy today.”

“When are you free, Tendou?” 

Too late.

“Tomorrow after practice! Come to my dorm and I’ll show you how to ace your tests.” You made eye contact with Tendou, his aura screaming _“Lemme have my fun”_ while you shot back a look that said _“Don’t run to me when he gets mad.”_ He chuckled and then shoved a whole piece of karaage into his mouth. “[Name], you’re right. This karaage is delicious! I’ll have to get an extra serving.”

“Tendou getting an extra serving?” You looked over your shoulder to see Semi setting his tray down next to yours. Yamagata was beside him and did the same. “That’s unheard of.”

Yamagata nodded, eyeing Tendou to get a gauge of the situation. “Yeah, the last time Tendou got an extra serving was when his manga delivered earlier than the expected day,” he said before giving thanks. Semi did the same beside him and they both started eating.

“He’s in a good mood,” you replied back while also taking small bites of your food. “He got near perfect marks on his exams.” 

Tendou slid his graded tests to the other third years and they scanned the pages. The indifference on their faces gave more validity to Tendou portraying himself as a silent genius. Without another word, they pushed the papers back and then began talking about the practice schedule for tonight. As the two talked, Shirabu felt a weight lift off his shoulders as he imagined the hours of free time he could get if the study technique Tendou was going to teach him actually ended up working. The look of bliss on his face was so unusual, causing the entire table to stop and stare.

“Kenjirou, you alright?” Yamagata asked, sending a concerned look to the second year. He wasn’t eating and was instead grinning to himself. Honestly, he kind of looked a bit freaky. “You should probably eat while your food is hot.”

“Yes,” Shirabu snapped out of his trance and picked his chopsticks up, “I’m fine. Sorry, I was lost in thought.”

Tendou snickered to himself and then dug his chopsticks into his bowl again, scooping a large amount of rice into his mouth. Semi stared at his friend with an uneasy look on his face. Something didn't feel right.

“What’s up with these two today?” Semi whispered to you. The boy opposite of him was still laughing to himself.

“Just ignore it,”you whispered back and took another bite of karaage. "For your own good."

He shrugged and listened, opting to change the topic to the gossip about someone ripping down the Ushijima poster at the Family Kart. 

* * *

With books in tow, Shirabu knocked raptly on the door a few times and then waited for the door to open to begin studying for the night. It didn't take long for Tendou to answer.

“Kenjirou, come on in!” Tendou gave a warm welcome and even took some of the books from Shirabu’s arms. He sauntered to his desk and dropped them next to his (rather large) stack of manga. “So, first sit down and I’ll show you how it’s done.”

Shirabu did as instructed and sat straight up.

 _Yeesh, this kid sure is obedient,_ the thought flashed through Tendou’s mind and he shook his head. “Now, lemme see your test papers.”

Again, Shirabu did as told and pulled out all his graded exams from the past week. The papers were laid out and covered the entire free space of the desk. Picking a random test up, Tendou squinted his eyes and reviewed each answer; humming out, he picked another paper and did the same thing. Staring up at his senior, Shirabu wondered what was going on inside his mind.

“Alright,” Tendou began and then pulled his phone out. His thumb tapped on the screen a couple of times and then he oriented its position to landscape. Propping his phone up using the stack of manga books, Tendou presented a video of a girl group performing, bubblegum pop music blaring out in the small dorm. “Study break.”

“We haven’t even done anything!” Shirabu yelled over the music and then shoved a finger on the screen to pause it. Tendou let out a pained expression. 

“Watching THRICE sing and dance is part of the methodology!” Tendou gasped and then resumed the video. “Just trust the process, Kenjirou.” 

Shirabu muttered a curse under his breath and slumped into the chair. He focused on the screen and watched the girls dance in a cute fashion. Tendou was next to him and moved his arms to the music.

“C’mon, Kenjirou, you gotta do the same dance moves as them! It gets your blood pumping!” 

“This is ridiculous, Tendou…” he huffed out, but still listened to his senior and tried to follow along. The movements the girls did were fast paced and he could feel himself building up a sweat. 

“That’s it! Now you gotta imitate their facial expressions too. You see her!” Tendou paused the video; a dolled up girl was smiling widely and sending a wink to the camera. “Follow along. This makes sure _every_ muscle is active when you’re studying—not just your brain. If you’re ever stuck on a problem, then all you gotta do is make the same facial expression you made when studying and you’ll remember it!”

As ridiculous as it sounded, it actually made a _tiny_ bit of sense. Shirabu scowled for a moment and then tried his best to pull the same facial expression.

 _Oh, this is too good,_ Tendou thought to himself. “That’s it! Get up from your seat and use your whole body!”

Shirabu followed Tendou's instructions and the two boys started dancing along to the music together. Once the final melody finished, Shirabu sat back down. His breaths were a bit heavier and he shoved the phone back to Tendou.

“Now, help me with my work.”

Tendou complied and then picked up the same paper he was scanning before they broke out in a dance. He hummed to himself again while Shirabu just stared.

“You didn’t put enough answer ‘c’ on this test,” Tendou exclaimed and pointed to the two missed questions. “These two are definitely answer ‘c,’ I can tell just by looking at them.”

Slowly looking up to make eye contact with Tendou, Shirabu felt the need to deck the red head.

_“What?”_

“Just look at ‘em. These two answers scream ‘c.’ And then this one over here,” his finger pointed to a different question, “is definitely ‘d.’”

“Well, how do you _know_ that?” Shirabu asked through gritted teeth. He really hoped that Tendou wasn’t being serious right now.

Tendou shrugged and then put his hands behind his neck. “Just a hunch. I mean, that’s the best way to do well on these exams. You gotta go with your gut instinct!”

Shirabu felt something inside of him snap. The guess monster that stood before him was innocently smiling, but all Shirabu wanted to do was put a fist to his face. For a moment, he actually imagined doing so. He bit the inside of his cheeks to maintain his composure and instead stacked up all his papers and shoved them back inside his bag. 

“Thank you, Tendou,” Shirabu said bitterly; he promptly stood up and hastily grabbed the rest of his books from Tendou's desk. "I'm going back to my dorm."

Without another word, Shirabu stormed out of the room, leaving Tendou to his own devices. The older boy stared at the door for a mere second before doubling down in laughter because out all the people on the team, he was able to trick Shirabu into doing the most popular girl group dance of the decade. Tears formed in the corners of his eyes and he wondered if he could do the same trick to Goshiki as well.

* * *

“What’s wrong with Tendou?” Oohira asked, joining your side when he noticed the slight oddity in the dining hall. You stood far from the table that Tendou had his body sprawled across, observing him as he stared at the ceiling, pure depression evident on his features.

“Apparently he lost one of his favorite manga books the other day...” You shook your head from side to side, touting the boy. His eyes were bloodshot and prominent purple bags could be seen underneath them even from where you were standing. “He stayed up all night looking for it, but it never turned up. And to make matters worse, he was sluggish during practice, so Coach Washijou made him do an extra round of serves as punishment.”

Oohira titled his head, wondering what the problem was with his friend. Sometimes Tendou was a complete enigma to him.

“Can’t he just buy it again online or something?” 

Tendou moaned out in misery and you both grimaced at his broken spirit. 

“He said it was a signed copy he won from a lottery, so it would probably be expensive to replace,” you replied back and then fidgeted with your fingers. Just looking at the boy stressed you out. "Apparently it was a favorite of his too..."

“Hm, is Tendou okay?”

You and Oohira turned around at the voice and saw Shirabu. He wore an indifferent expression as he eyed Tendou’s sprawled body from across the room. 

“No,” you began and explained once more. “He lost one of his favorite manga books the other day and he's really upset about it.”

“That’s too bad,” Shirabu said in a flat tone and then crossed his arms in front of his chest. His finger twitched and he repressed the satisfaction he felt seeing his senior in such a dejected state. “Hope he finds it soon.”

* * *

**EXTRA:**

_“Huh!_ Ushiwaka!” Hinata exclaimed with his mouth hanging open. "Look at him!"

There, plastered right on the door of the Family Kart he and Kageyama were standing in front of, was a poster of Ushijima posing with a new menu item dubbed “The Ushijima Special.” He gawked at it and then pulled the same pose with the same serious facial expression. His mind wondered what it would be like to endorse a Hinata special as he giggled into his hand, diving deeper into his fantasies.

“Shut it, idiot. We need to focus on getting back to campus,” Kageyama grunted out. He side-eyed the poster of Ushijima and noted his powerful stance. “And don’t even bother doing the same pose as him, you just make it look pathetic.” 

_“Y-You…!”_ Hinata flung himself towards Kageyama to tackle him down, however the taller boy sidestepped and Hinata ate dirt. “Dummy-yama! Come back!” 

He tried to tackle him again, and this time he actually got a hold of his t-shirt. The two tussled with each other in front of the convenience store, flailing their arms in all directions to get a single hit. Across the street, an older woman saw the two fighting and shook her head in a disapproving manner. Neither noticed as they were too preoccupied with each other.

 _“Runt! Idiot!”_ Kageyama yelled at his teammate and then reached his hand out to grab Hinata by the hair; by some miracle, Hinata ducked fast enough which resulted in Kageyama’s fingers snatching onto paper. The two stopped their wrestling and stared at the fist Kageyama made.

Then they slowly turned to look at the Family Kart door. 

Half of Ushijima was gone.

Both boys paled. 

“Great job, Dummy-ya—!”

Hinata never got to finish his words as Kageyama shoved the latter portion of Ushijima’s poster into his mouth to shut him up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading! I hope you're all staying happy and healthy during this time :)
> 
> peace.


	5. the haunting at the gymnasium

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspiration for this chapter goes to the third Haikyuu-bu!! Chapter.

There was a harsh and uneven drumming from the nonstop pelting of rain on the industrial roofing of the gymnasium. Practice had ended quite some time ago, and the only people still in the gym were the starters of the team. Within thirty minutes of free practice, the weather took a turn for the worst. Echoes of thunder accompanied the shower to make the perfect storm.

Worried about the weather, you took a glance at the clock on the wall of the gym. Thirty minutes until seven in the evening. Coach Saito had entrusted you with the keys to lock up after you told him that you would monitor the rest of the boys after official practice. On the court, Tendou was fooling around with Ushijima (though, it was quite one-sided) as they both served. Semi, Shirabu, and Goshiki were on the court furthest from where you stood, and, unlike Tendou, these three were actually focusing on practice and helping each other out. Resting on the sidelines, Oohira, Yamagata, and Kawanishi sat and watched their teammates. Approaching them with towels in arm, you wondered if you should cut their free practice short for today.

“It’s raining pretty hard,” you said as you passed a few towels to the boys. They each graciously took one and dried their faces. Outside, the rain continued to pour on the building as the wind howled. “Maybe we should start cleaning up before it gets worse...”

The wind screeched once more, louder than before. It was so sudden that you flinched in surprise and nearly dropped the towels in your hand. 

“Aw, don’t tell me you’re scared!” Tendou teased you as he joined the group. Ushijima was still practicing his serves on the court, consistently hitting his shots right in the middle of the back zone. “It’s just a little bit of light rain. Nothin' to be afraid of!”

Right as he finished his sentence, the lights suddenly blacked out and it took all your might to not scream in terror. A flash of lightning struck and a crashing boom quickly followed. You heard Goshiki yelp along with the sound of volleyballs bouncing on the ground. From the other side of the gym, Semi yelled out a curse and the sound of a ball bouncing echoed rhythmically.

“Hey, Wakatoshi!” It was Tendou’s voice. “Stop serving, you can’t even see right now!”

The bouncing stopped and was replaced with the shuffling of footsteps.

It was pitch black in the gymnasium; even when you squinted your eyes, it was difficult to make out the figures around you. The three that were resting beside you quickly stood up; Kawanishi had his hands slightly in front of him to gauge his depth-perception while Yamagata held onto Oohira’s shoulders. As the rest of the guys joined the group, a pair of hands lightly grabbed onto your shoulder and a "Boo!" was whispered into your ear. Frightened, you jumped at the sudden sound. Tendou cackled at your reaction and slapped his knees. 

“Quit it, Tendou!” you shrieked while rubbing your arms. The gym suddenly felt like it was getting colder. “Jeez, there’s a flashlight in the storage room. I’ll get it and we can clean up for today.”

The boys agreed and then congregated with each other to wait. With your arms in front of you, you made way towards the storage room. Pulling and pushing the door, you used all your muscle until it finally gave out and opened. 

_That’s weird,_ you thought and then instantly shrugged it off. Stranger things have happened. The storage room was relatively clean and organized, so even without the lights you knew where to look. You turned the flashlight on and illuminated the room. 

Suddenly, the door slammed shut. Screaming out, you nearly dropped the flashlight. 

“This isn’t funny!” You tugged on the handle of the door and tried to pry it open. It didn't budge in the slightest, no matter how much force you exerted onto it. Slamming your fists on the metal, you began to cry out in desperation. “Open the door! Stop messing around!”

A second later, the hard metal of the door was replaced with nothingness. You tumbled forward and felt two arms steady you. 

“[S-Surname]!” Goshiki yelped as he held you up. "W-What's—!"

“Why’d you lock me in here! What’s wrong with you guys?” You ran a few more steps away from the storage room and caught your breath when you were out of immediate danger; the air was still chilly and when you turned around, you saw Goshiki sending a puzzled look your way.

“Um...” He was trembling as he stared at you. “No one was there. We were all sitting on the sideline waiting for you and then you started screaming…”

"What?” Now _you_ werethe one shaking. The flashlight quivering in your hand was a dead giveaway to how frightened you were about the whole ordeal. “There’s no way… I was pulling and pushing on that handle like my life depended on it…” 

“The door was most likely just jammed, [Surname],” Ushijima rationalized as he began picking up some of the fallen volleyballs now that there was a light source present. The others agreed, however, Goshiki, Shirabu, and Kawanishi were looking the most on edge. You took a deep breath and let Ushijima’s words calm you down. He was right, _obviously_ the door was jammed. There was no other plausible explanation.

You turned the flashlight to face the mess of volleyballs and the boys started to clean up; they talked amongst themselves, but, in the middle of the chit-chat, you noticed something strange move in the background. Counting the number of heads in front of you, you realized there was an extra figure in the shadows on the wall. Unable to form words, you shakily pointed your finger in front of you and Semi was the first one to notice. He turned to where you were pointing and saw the extra shadow move about. 

“What the hell is that!” Semi screamed out as he ran to hide behind you. "This can't be real!"

The flashlight in your hand fidgeted and the extra shadow stood still with all the attention. The others sent a questioning look towards you two, and then turned to look in the direction where your finger was pointing. Ushijima remained calm and collected while the rest of the team took cover behind you and the flashlight. 

“It’s a ghost!” Goshiki screamed out and covered his eyes with his hands. (If he can’t see it then it can’t hurt him, right?) 

“A spirit attached to the gymnasium!” 

“Or a shadow monster!” 

“It’s an evil entity!”

The boys were all yelling into your ears and the heightened stimuli made you almost drop the flashlight. Your tongue was still twisted and there was really nothing to say about the lone shadow on the wall; suddenly, it began to creep towards the group and it grew bigger—more monstrous—with each approaching step. The boys still used you as a human shield and hid behind you.

But, unlike the others, Ushijima was the only level-headed person in the gym; he neither screeched nor hid. Instead, he picked up a volleyball and then conducted a jump serve at the monster. The shadow disappeared and never came back.

With the exception of the rain, the gym was dead silent. Your eyes widened towards Ushijima.

Was this boy afraid of nothing?

“It must have been an intruder,” Ushijima rationalized once again and continued cleaning up.

“Intruder my _ass!”_ Yamagata and Semi shout in unison.

Ignoring the two, Ushijima walked to the opposite side of the gym to retrieve the ball he just served. Semi and Yamagata grabbed as many volleyballs as possible on the ground and dropped them into the ball cart. The other boys hustled with the clean up process as well, taking down the nets and chairs in record time. Still in shock, you only pointed the flashlight at whoever called for it. Suddenly, a feeling of dread hit you.

_I still need to get the jerseys out of the laundry and leave them out to dry,_ the thought frightened you. If the jerseys weren't dry by the morning, then Coach Washijou would be pissed.

Going up against demons or Coach Washijou? 

You picked the demons.

The boys were now shoving the ball carts into the storage room, nearly done with all the chores. Everyone seemed to have mostly recovered from the initial fright of the shadow monster. Perhaps it was a hallucination from practicing volleyball too long? A loud rhythmic booming sound stopped your thoughts. Turning around to the entrance of the gym, you noticed the sliding door opening and closing itself. 

“That’s—it’s impossible!” Shirabu screeched as you pointed the light towards the entrance door to showcase the anomaly to everyone. The sound of the banging seemed to get louder and angrier as time passed. 

“An angry spirit possessed the door!” Goshiki was hiding behind his teammates in terror as he cried into his hands.

“Wakatoshi, do something!” Tendou yelled behind your figure.

“Quit using me as a human shield!” You elbowed Tendou to get away from you but he gripped onto your shoulders.

“No! Usually in the horror movies the girl is kept alive until the very end! I need your protection!”

The two of you started to fight each other while Ushijima nodded. He went up to the entrance door and, using all his force, promptly shut it. The door wiggled around for a second and then stilled. 

“It must have been the wind,” Ushijima noted, his eyes lingering on the iron door.

_Wind? That door’s made out of iron!_

_He’s absolutely fearless._

_What kind of wind goes back and forth like that?_

_A complete volleyball idiot…_

“Let’s just get out of here…” Kawanishi spoke up for the first time that night as he shifted from side to side.

With the clean up process done, there was no need to stay any longer in the cursed gymnasium. They all began speed-walking to where Ushijima was in front of the sliding door.

“Wait!” you abruptly called out. The entire group stared at you, waiting rather impatiently for whatever you had to say. Embarrassed, you gripped onto the hem of your t-shirt. “I still need to get the jerseys out of the laundry…”

Semi sent you a look that screamed _“Your problem, not mine!”_ while Oohira, Kawanishi, and Yamagata avoided making eye contact with you. Shirabu made a disgruntled face while Goshiki started to profusely sweat.

“[Name],” Tendou began and placed his hands on his hips. “We love ya, but this place is haunted and I’m going back to my dorm. Good luck!”

You pressed your lips into a straight line in order to keep your composure. Tendou’s face was looking _very_ punchable at the moment.

“I’ll go with you.”

Your heart leapt in joy at hearing Ushijima’s offer. The others let out a sigh of relief, glad that they no longer had to shoulder the burden of you dying at the hands of whatever demon was currently making a home in the gym.

* * *

“Thanks for joining me, Ushijima,” you said as you spread the wet jerseys on the rails of the second floor. They would be dry and ready for practice tomorrow. "I really appreciate it."

Ushijima nodded his head as a reply, flapping the jerseys in his basket to get rid of the excess droplets of water as he handed them to you. You both worked in a comfortable silence, trying to finish the last chore to leave the gym for the evening.

“How are you so fearless?” you asked him, genuinely curious about how he would answer. The whole time the strange occurrences were happening Ushijima didn’t show an ounce of fear. 

He took a second to ponder your question.

“There’s nothing scarier than Coach Washijou.” 

_Well, he’s not wrong,_ you laughed to yourself and agreed with him.

“You’re right. That’s why I need to finish hanging these jerseys up or else he would have— _AH!”_

You screamed out in fright when you felt foreign hands grip tightly onto your shoulders; reflexively, you struggled out of the grip and then quickly spun around to throw your fist at whatever was behind you. Hitting as hard as you could, your hand made contact with a bony surface. Ushijima’s eyes widened at the fallen figure. 

It was Tendou.

And his nose was bleeding profusely.

_“I-I just wanted to scare you… Only a little bit…”_ he moaned out in pain and rolled to his side as he pressed a hand to his face. Suddenly feeling bad for the boy, you crawled next to him and assessed his injury. 

_Perhaps I should be afraid of [Surname] as well,_ Ushijima thought as he pitied his fallen teammate. 

* * *

**EXTRA:**

“Whaddya mean you’re not gonna come back?!” Coach Washijou yelled into the phone, upset at what he had just heard. The person on the other line nervously laughed.

_“Well, when I was working last night on the maintenance I almost got my head ripped off by a volleyball,”_ he breathed in and out to maintain his composure and to not back down with his angry client. _“I then tried to oil up the rollers on the door, but my hand was nearly crushed when one of your students shut the door as hard as possible when I was working on it...”_

Washijou took a second to let the words soak in. He gritted his teeth.

“Alright, I understand. I’ll get those kids under control.” 

He promptly hung up the call and gave himself a mental note to find a new maintenance worker for the gym. The clock on the wall read fifteen minutes until scheduled practice time.

_Hope they’re ready for hell,_ Coach Washijou chuckled to himself as he left his office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg... I'm so sorry for the late update y'all! last week was kind of wild cuz of a huge winter storm lol thankfully that time has passed and my family and I are doing fine. I hope you guys have been doing well during this time! 
> 
> stay healthy and stay happy!


	6. yamagata treats the team

“So the day has finally come...!” Tendou relished the sight in front of him and stretched his arms to show off his wingspan. “Yakiniku!”

At his sudden outburst, a few people walking through the shopping district glanced at the boy’s strange pose, pointing in his direction and laughing amongst themselves. Semi, embarrassed by his friend's erratic nature, slapped Tendou on the back and scolded him to stand up straight. The other boys didn't seem to mind it too much as they chatted in pairs.

“Let’s just go in and eat,” Yamagata huffed out and led the pack inside. He had been dreading this day for a while, worried about the appetites his friends would put up since he was going to be the one paying. "That lunch special isn't gonna last all day..."

Even though it was the weekend, the boys were able to get a table without a long wait. (Yamagata wasn't sure if he should regard this as a pro or a con because the lack of waiting meant the rest of the guys wouldn't get hungrier as time passed, but it also felt like he was personally being escorted into the lion's den so that the beast could shred up his wallet. The thought of spending a month's worth of allowance in a single sitting made him sick to his stomach.) Menus were passed around as soon as they were seated and Yamagata started to calculate the numbers in his head as soon as he opened the first page.

Sitting across from him, Goshiki flipped through and pointed at all the different cuts of meat with a dreamy look in his eyes. He was acting as if he had never eaten meat before in his life. Shirabu was right next to him, acting more composed than his junior as he carefully read through the entrees. There was a slight twitch to his fingers, the only tell of his excitement at being treated to barbeque for the day.

“Oh, set C looks nice,” Semi nudged Yamagata's arm, forcing him to stop over analyzing every bit of this outing. “It can feed up to four people, so if we order this and then add set B, we’ll have enough food for everyone. Maybe even a little extra.”

While he appreciated his friend's proposal, Yamagata shook his head. “It’s fine, order whatever you want,” he replied back. Semi laughed at his response and then slapped him on the back as a means to praise his reliability. 

Much like Semi, the rest of the guys were rather impressed with Yamagata's words. Goshiki looked at his senior with a twinkle in his eyes and then went back to properly scanning the menu once more, adding a few more sides he had been debating to his order. The rest of the boys would be lying if they said they didn't notice his excitement, but they chose to keep mum about it. Another waitress was waved down so they could have their orders taken (two sets and a few sides, much to Yamagata's relief), and Yamgata ran the numbers in his head again. He wasn't going to break bank, but he was pretty close to it. Everyone at the table could tell exactly what he was thinking as it was written all over his face.

The mood turned much lighter as Oohira started conversation with the entire table, first turning to Goshiki as he spoke about his classes. They bounced off each other, causing the topics to jump from classes to practice to the upcoming scheduled matches to favorite actresses and prime time television. All in all, everyone was enjoying themselves during this outing.

Yamagata savored this moment with his team. With his friends. He was with them all the time at practice, but being able to enjoy themselves all together like this outside of campus was rare. Especially with the ever looming presence of university entrance exams as the days passed. This pressure only seemed to grow as it was coupled with the thoughts of his final volleyball tournaments for his high school career.

“The practice schedule for this upcoming week looks pretty tough, doesn’t it?” Oohira asked aloud as he drummed his fingers on the table. Yamagata snapped out of his thoughts and then directed his attention to his friends again.

“It's our third year and I’m still not used to it,” Semi slumped down into his seat. Just the thought of all the planned conditioning was making him exhausted. 

“Eh, but Eita you’re usually one of the top runners behind Wakatoshi!” Tendou’s finger circled around the rim of his glass as he spoke.

_Yeah, keeping up with him is a pain,_ Semi thought as he took a sip out of his glass. “Doesn’t make the running any less hard.”

“Wakatoshi is one of the top runners, but Tsutomu is doing a good job keeping up,” Oohira nodded his praise with a fond smile. Said boy was busy eyeing the grill in the middle of the table, but looked up once his name was mentioned.

“Of course, Oohira! I need to do all that I can in order to establish myself as the future ace of Shiratorizawa!” He declared, chest filling with determination. Shiabu side-eyed Goshiki and then glanced at Ushijima.

_It’ll be a hundred years until he can get on Ushijima’s level,_ he thought and slightly shifted in his seat.

“Kenjirou’s totally thinking that it’ll be a hundred years until he can get on Wakatoshi’s level. It’s written all over his face.” Tendou laughed and the second year froze at have his thoughts announced. 

“Tendou, did you even find your missing manga?” Shirabu cut in, directing the conversation elsewhere. It worked, the question causing Tendou to slouch in grief.

“Nope,” Tendou had a solemn look on his face and then took a swig of his water as if it was alcohol. “It’s lost forever. My precious Bobo’s Ridiculous Journey is gone! A rare signed copy that I always had on my desk to help me through the day, just... disappeared. Like magic." He let out a heavy sigh. "Kenjirou, have you ever experienced heartbreak?”

There was a dejected air filling the whole booth from Tendou’s words. Everyone kept quiet, shifting uncomfortably in their seats (with the exception of Ushijima who stared at his friend with furrowed brows).

“Uh, no. I have not, Tendou,” Shirabu answered, keeping his formalities with the boy.

Tendou put a hand to his chin and closed his eyes to think. “Okay, then have you ever experienced one of your favorite TV series ending abruptly and the ending is just flat out terrible?” 

_He’s oddly specific._ Shirabu nodded to his senior to continue. 

“Well it’s like that feeling! Lost, confused, upset! Without that signed copy of Bobo’s Ridiculous Journey my life feels incomplete!” 

Having had enough of hearing about BoBo's Ridiculous Journey for the past week, Semi slammed his fist on the table. The silverware clattered and some water spilled out of the glass cups from the sheer force he put into it. Tendou's mourning was getting on his nerves and he would rather enjoy at least _one_ lunch without having to hear about the loss of his precious manga.

“Just buy another one already!” Semi interrupted.

“Another signed copy costs an arm and a leg, Eita!”

Semi scowled. “Does it have to be signed? Stop being so attached to material things!"

“This isn’t a material attachment, but rather a _spiritual_ one.”

The two continued to bicker, going back and forth like a rallying tennis ball. Keeping to himself, Shirabu silently wondered how to discreetly return Tendou’s manga without being caught as the perpetrator. Goshiki tried to stop the two from arguing (as he noticed a few nearby customers staring at them), but they yelled over him. Yamagata and Oohira had to comfort the boy, telling him that it happens from time to time.

This chaotic scene didn't last long. Ushijima was the first to notice their waitress coming back with trays of food. He began to move the dishes to make room on the table for the meat. All the madness ceased as soon as the meat was present. There was pork belly, ribs, and marbled beef spread in front of them. It sparkled and there was a glint of hunger in everyone’s eyes. 

“Itadakimasu,” everyone at the table said and clapped their hands together. Ushijima and Oohira were the ones who grilled the meat for everyone and a delectable aroma quickly filled the air around them. Goshiki shifted anxiously in his seat, the searing sound of all the different cuts induced him to lick his lips in anticipation.

“Here,” Ushijima grabbed the first piece of cooked meat and placed it on Goshiki’s plate. Goshiki’s eyes widened, gleaming as he stared at his dependable senior. The older boys chuckled at the joyous look on Goshiki’s face.

“How romantic,” Tendou hugged himself as a shiver traveled along his back. Ushijima sent the red haired boy a bewildered look, but chose to ignore his statement as he focused his attention on the meat.

The oil on the grill cackled to fill in the voids of silence. The look of pure bliss was evident on everyone’s features at the first taste of barbecued meat. Even Ushijima seemed a bit more mellowed out. Conversation was reignited and they all chatted about various things ranging from Tendou’s favorite actresses to the strange vest Semi bought the other week.

* * *

The various arrays of meat soon disappeared and the heat of the grill subsided. There was a mess of plates and empty bowls of rice were scattered about on the table. Goshiki and Shirabu looked just about ready to pass out from a food coma. Looking at his two juniors, Yamagata felt a sense of pride well up in him. As their senior, it was only right to indulge in his juniors once in a while. Not only this, but he knew how fleeting these moments with the rest of his team were—especially since this was his last year of high school.

Their waitress came back one last time and slipped the bill on the table along with a small dessert plate of sliced oranges. The bill was passed to Yamagata and each person at the table indulged in the sweetness of the fruit. 

Reaching into the pocket of his tracksuit pants, Yamagata’s fingers searched for his wallet. He felt nothing. His breathing halted for a second and he checked his other pocket. 

Nothing but his phone. 

Yamagata turned both his pant pockets inside-out and saw that the one he originally put his wallet in had loose stitches. There was a hole _just_ big enough for his wallet to slip through.

_No, there’s no way. I would have noticed it slipping out when I was walking with the rest of the guys,_ Yamagata shuddered at the realization that he had lost his wallet somewhere. _Just when did I lose my wallet...? And why did it have to happen now? Think about what happened today…_

And so, he shut his eyes to think about his every step. He definitely remembered putting the wallet into his pocket. And he remembered the night before he put enough cash for the meal today.

_Was it when Tendou jumped on me in front of the dormitory?_ Yamagata’s face turned to stone. _It must have been, there was too much commotion for me to have noticed my wallet falling out and they were all rushing me off campus. Maybe someone grabbed the wallet and took it to the lost and found? My school ID is in there too… Should I tell the guys? What do I do, what do I do?!_

“Hey, Hayato,” Semi waved a hand in front of his face to snap him out of his train of thought. “You okay? You look like you’re going to throw up.”

“Maybe he ate too much,” Tendou commented as he gnawed on the last of his orange slice.

_It’d probably be best to tell them now,_ Yamagata concluded and clenched his fist in anticipation.

“Uh, I…”

“Hm? Don’t tell me you lost your wallet, Hayato,” Oohira said. His tone was that of jest, but there was a bead of sweat going down the side of his temple.

Yamagata paled instead of answering.

There was silence all around as everyone stopped chewing (Goshiki even stopped breathing for a bit).

_“What kind of stupid slice of life scenario is this?!”_ Semi grabbed onto the collar of Yamagata’s t-shirt and shook him around. He moved lifelessly like a rag doll and fully accepted Semi’s anger. 

“Eita, calm down!” Tendou reached across the table and grabbed onto Semi’s arm to stop him. “We’ll just pile our own money together and then Hayato can pay us back!”

“I didn’t bring my wallet with me because Hayato said he was going to be treating us!” Semi finally let go of Yamagata's t-shirt and sat back in his seat with his arms crossed. 

“I didn’t bring my wallet too…” Goshiki added in a meek tone. Shirabu slowly nodded to this statement, an obvious frown on his face.

Oohira pressed his hand against his forehead to mitigate his migraine. “Neither did I…”

Everyone turned to Ushijima, their last hope.

“I didn’t think I would need it.”

Nobody said a word.

“We need to call someone,” Ushijima broke the silence, offering a solution. 

There was only one person who came to mind.

* * *

Sundays were usually spent in leisure for you. It was the day meant to catch up on your studies, read novels, or call your family. A day meant for pure relaxation.

(Unfortunately for you, this Sunday would be anything but.)

Your phone chimed once, but you chose to ignore it, instead trying to take an early nap after finishing through a few workbook sections. Five minutes had passed and then you received another message. Your eyes glanced over at where your phone was sitting on your desk and you waited for another second. Nothing. You shut your eyes and started to clear your mind from—

An onslaught of chimes broke your concentration as your phone started to blow up with notifications. Grumbling to yourself, you pulled the sheets off your body and dragged your feet to your phone. The caller ID on the screen displayed "Ushijima." A sense of worry fully woke up from your exhaustion because of _all_ the people who could be calling you, it was Shiratorizawa'a captain: the most dependable guy you knew.

“Hello?” you answered the phone. Audible sighs of relief could be heard from the other line.

_“[Surname],”_ Ushijima began. _“We need your help.”_

In your mind, all the instances in which your assistance was needed flashed before you like a horror movie.

“...What is it?”

_“We went out to eat yakiniku and we are out of funds,”_ Ushijima answered. There was a commotion happening in the background, a mix of angry voices arguing in a way that turned to complete gibberish on your side.

_“Wakatoshi, give the phone to Hayato!”_

That sounded like Oohira. His voice was panicked which _definitely_ wasn't a good sign. There was rustling on the other line as the phone was being passed to Yamagata.

_“[Surname]! We all went out for yakiniku and I was going to treat everyone since I lost the noodle bet, but I ended up losing my wallet when getting to the restaurant and I didn’t notice it until I had to pay the bill!”_ Yamagata cried out from the speaker. You had to distance your phone away from your face in order to not blow your eardrums out. _“No one else brought their wallets and we’re all stuck here because we don’t have any money! Please help us!”_

The desperation in his voice was evident: you were their last resort (before calling for their parents or Coach Washijou, but doing so was like asking for a death sentence). 

“Just tell me where you are…” you grumbled out and started throwing an ensemble together. 

* * *

When you arrived at the yakiniku restaurant, the first thing on your mind was wanting to nag at the members. The hostess waiting in the front led you to where the boys were sitting and you crossed your arms in annoyance. They could clearly see that you were seething as today was supposed to be your day off.

“Give me the bill,” was the first thing you said. Yamagata handed you the check and your eyes widened at the total yen amount. It was weeks worth of allowance saved! No longer wanting to even look at them, you turned your back and went to the pay register.

“[Surname] looks mad…” Goshiki stated out and nervously fiddled with the strings of his hoodie. 

“Of course she’d be mad,” Shirabu muttered so that only the first year could hear him. “The other day [Surname] had to deal with Tendou’s bloody nose because he tried to scare her, and now she has to deal with our lunch bill. I’m surprised she hasn’t quit the club with everyone stressing her out.”

“Q-Quit?” Goshiki stammered at the thought of no longer having a manager on the team. “There’s no way [Surname] would quit!”

Tendou waved his hand in disapproval at the two younger boys. “Nope, there’s no way that'll happen. She’ll just get peeved for the next few days and might even curse at Hayato, but after that she’ll be fine.”

Ushijima stared at Tendou and recounted when his friend was punched in the face by you. He then glanced at Yamagata.

“Good luck.”

“G-Good luck?” Yamagata repeated Ushijima’s words. _Why is he saying that to me? It’s as if he’s saying I’m entering a perilous journey._

The sound of your footsteps could be heard again as you approached the table. There was an obvious scowl on your face and you practically shoved the receipt into Yamagata's hands.

_“You owe me.”_

The guys shivered at your words. There was venom dripping with each syllable. Silently, everyone got up and left their seats. Nobody dared to say a word in fear of you snapping at them. There was a dark aura that followed behind your every step, making your figure seem all the more menacing as the guys maintained their distance away from you; heck, even Ushijima was taking great consideration to not get too close. 

_This is just a continuation of the noodle incident,_ you seethed in annoyance. 

* * *

The bed in your dorm felt so much more plush than it usually did when you sunk yourself into it; it was probably due to how exhausted you were from having to save the guys from their own stupidity. A chime broke the silence in your room and you groaned out; the sound of your phone was starting to aggravate you. Getting out of the bed, you grabbed your phone and saw a text message from Tendou.

> **TENDOU:**
> 
> Come to the gym! We have something special for you!

You stared at the screen for a second and then let out a soft, disapproving click of the tongue.

> **YOU:**
> 
> No.
> 
> **TENDOU:**
> 
> C’mon don’t be like that! It’s an apology for you.

Feeling that you had no choice (because Tendou would probably bug you all day about it), you made your way to the practice gymnasium. 

* * *

When you arrived, you saw Tendou standing outside of the sliding entrance door with his phone in hand. He was quick to spot you from afar, waving and jumping in the air for you to quickly join him. The enthusiasm in his actions caused you to slouch (because had he no shame? He was acting as if the events earlier in the day hadn't happened), but you allowed him to lead you inside the gym. A net had been set up on a single court and the members who went out for yakiniku were waiting at the end line. 

Minus one person.

Yamagata was on the other side of the court in the back zone with his butt high in the air. 

“Since this is all Hayato’s fault,” Tendou jabbed his thumb in the direction of where Yamagata was standing, “his punishment is butts up! And we offer you to be the first server!”

The scene was ridiculous enough to make you stand speechless as you stared at the members.

You should have ignored your phone and stayed in your dorm.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Managing the Cat's Den](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24131674) by [edensgarden](https://archiveofourown.org/users/edensgarden/pseuds/edensgarden)




End file.
